Reloading for the SVT and a feed problem

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Rayleigh_Scattering

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I have two questions for the wise folks out there:

1) Between the marks of the fluted chamber, the side-ding, and hunting through the bushes to find them is it realistic to try to reload brass for the SVT-40?

And do they need full resizing, or just neck sizing?

2) Rounds feeding from the right hand stack just barely get hung up on the bottom rim of the breech face. There's enough oomph in the spring to force past it, but it always nicks the tip. The left hand stack feeds fine.

This is with pointy silver-tip bulgarian. It'll be worse with SP (or maybe not...as the ogive is fatter on the SP).

The front feed ramp of the magazine looks lower on the right than on the left. The round pushes forward onto that front feed lip, but it doesn't seem to pivot up high enough to clear the breech face rim.

Anyone else experience this? And how did you fix it?

I'm not going to whip out the dremel tool until I understand this better.

Ulrich
 
1. Just like TV said, SVT mags are fitted for the rifle, same as PPSh drums.
2. I wouldn't try to shoot reloads out that rifle. It's picky as is.
 
It isn't worth reloading for an SVT. Case ejection damage is too severe to expect the cases to last more than a few loads. Cases are running at $75 per hundred (PRVI) and up. Projectiles (0.310 or 0.311) aren't cheap and are quite difficult to find. The SVT was never that accurate in any case. With an abundant supply of surplus and inexpensive non-corrosive ammunition, reloading just doesn't make sense.

All semi-autos should used full length sized cases to ensure reliable feeding. With bolt action rifles the user can exert the necessary additional force to overcome the close size relationships between the chamber and case.
 
my steel cases end up getting destroyed half the time when i shoot em thru my svt. I wouldn't bother reloading for the SVT, isnt economical the gun isnt accurate enough to bother. The charm of the SVT-40 isn't in accurate fire anyways.
 
Mexican match by pulling FMJ bullets and seating SP's of the same weight in their place.Then who cares about the brass.......Harold
 
As said the svt40 chews up spent steel casings, brass will be worse. I'd be more apt to reload for a mosin than an svt if I knew how to reload. But I have an svt that's looking like its a very accurate shooter with surplus so I'm excited to see how it groups with commercial soft point once it's scope is sighted in.
 
Regarding your feed problem; My SVT had the same problem with the tip of every bullet (of several different FMJ varieties) hitting the bottom of the breech face and jamming there until I pulled them out and tried again, sometimes succeeding - usually not. I fixed it by adding a layer of tin can to the magazine feed ramp. This made it so that the curvature of the bullet (ogive?) would touch the feed ramp sooner and lift up past the breech face. I tried finding a way to allow the magazine to go further up into the receiver, but that caused failures to eject.
I would like to find a neater or more professional fix though.
 
>layer of tin

I like that idea. Best thing about it is that (except for a bit of surface finish) it doesn't involve removing anything.

I'll try putting in a shim to see how much more height it will need. Not much I'm thinking.

How long has it lasted so far?

Butcherbill (An Aubrey/Maturin fan?): What kind of scope mount did you use? Repro? Did you stick with an original short/low or did you go more towards the matte-black-softball-bat end of things?

Thanks.
 
RE: layer of tin - my quick - shoddy fix has lasted 200 rounds so far with no signs of wearing out. It just looks bad.
It is more a matter of making the bullet touch a feeding ramp sooner rather than the tin sticking up higher; I snipped a tin can
so that the piece extends down into the magazine a couple of inches (right in front of the follower) and then I have snipped two ''ears''
which extend along the top of the magazine and these get sandwiched between the top of the magazine and the receiver thus
holding the piece of tin in place. It would probably have been easier to simply epoxy the piece of tin in place, except I am holding out for a better fix.
 
Rayleigh_Scattering said:
Butcherbill (An Aubrey/Maturin fan?): What kind of scope mount did you use? Repro? Did you stick with an original short/low or did you go more towards the matte-black-softball-bat end of things?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

No, not an Aubrey/Maturin fan. I had to google that one actually lol.

Here's the route I went on both my 41 svt40's as I didn't want to file a sniper notch or drill and tap the receiver, it's about as solid as it gets and is removable with ease to clean if you shoot corrosive ammo. Which I do 90% of the time.

http://www.corwin-arms.com/product/svt-40-weaverpicatinny-rail-scope-mount

One has a vomz 6x42 scope with dragunov reticle, once I get them sighted in I'll post a range report. Last time out I was hitting an 8" gong 4 out of 5 times out at 80yrds, would've been 5-5 but the stand I rigged up fell apart after shot 4 in a row lol.

http://www.corwin-arms.com/product/vomz-pilad-p6x42l-scope-dragunov-svd-reticle-0

The other has this vomz scope

http://www.corwin-arms.com/catalogue/optics?page=1
 
It did look like the feed ramp on the magazine was ground in a bit of hurry, as it was not even approximately centered on the lip.

As suggested I cut up and flattened the side of a scrap 303 casing, and made up a bent tab-thing like described. It worked, but the rims seemed to catch on it on the extraction.

By the time I trimmed away enough of that tab to clear the bolt I realized that I only probably needed another 20 or 30 thousandths in the area of interest to fix the problem.

So I pulled it out and carefully filed the crudely carved feed ramp bare, put on a tiny touch of acid paste, and with a low torch soldered on just enough of the hardest lead-free solder I could find to bring the ramp area back to it's original square profile all the way across.

Surface prep is the key to such things, and the first time I wasn't satisfied I had good full surface attachment, so I filed it off and did it again until it was attached over the whole surface.

Then many check-the-fit/file-a-bit cycles later I ended up with something that reliably feeds left and right. The left side is almost the same as the original profile, but the right side is about 0.5mm higher than it was.

Still TBD how long it lasts, but the ogive is smooth gliding metal, so it should handle it for a while. If it wears down it'll be easy enough to build it up again now that I have a fused base layer to work with.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Ulrich
 
Rayleigh_Scattering said:
It did look like the feed ramp on the magazine was ground in a bit of hurry, as it was not even approximately centered on the lip.

As suggested I cut up and flattened the side of a scrap 303 casing, and made up a bent tab-thing like described. It worked, but the rims seemed to catch on it on the extraction.

By the time I trimmed away enough of that tab to clear the bolt I realized that I only probably needed another 20 or 30 thousandths in the area of interest to fix the problem.

So I pulled it out and carefully filed the crudely carved feed ramp bare, put on a tiny touch of acid paste, and with a low torch soldered on just enough of the hardest lead-free solder I could find to bring the ramp area back to it's original square profile all the way across.

Surface prep is the key to such things, and the first time I wasn't satisfied I had good full surface attachment, so I filed it off and did it again until it was attached over the whole surface.

Then many check-the-fit/file-a-bit cycles later I ended up with something that reliably feeds left and right. The left side is almost the same as the original profile, but the right side is about 0.5mm higher than it was.

Still TBD how long it lasts, but the ogive is smooth gliding metal, so it should handle it for a while. If it wears down it'll be easy enough to build it up again now that I have a fused base layer to work with.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Ulrich
Click to expand...

How about some pics of your cure? My SVT doesn't do it, but it sure would help others that have the same issue.
 
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